This is me symbolically removing an ear bud from my ear. (Though it also looks like me adjusting an ear bud in my ear…since they never ever fit my ear well.)

(Sunday Paper, Year IV, Issue 20)

Last week I hinted that I might start guest posts this week…but I changed my mind.

I was reminded this week of something I wrote that I never found the right home for - so I’m using it as today’s Sunday Paper.

Then I’ll jump straight to the Notes and explain a little about why it’s extra appropriate for this week.

And then I’ll finish out the month of May next week before taking some time off in June and maybe into July with the guest posts.

So - here’s a little essay I wrote at the end of last year about changing my podcast-listening habits.

That’s it for The Daily.

And no I will not see you tomorrow, Michael Barbaro.

That’s it for all of the podcasts in my feed, actually.

Here’s some stuff you should know, Josh and Chuck: It’s time for me to stop filling my head with other people’s words. I’m taking a break from the podcasts I’ve loved for so long.

I was an early adopter of the medium, and I fell in love fast. I became a loyal listener to a number of shows after I downloaded a few of the podcasts at the top of the iTunes charts about a decade ago. Then I spent my 40-minute commute listening to interviews with comedians and authors, learning about things I had never given much thought to before, and hearing stories from people in all walks of life.

Now, no longer driving for more than an hour each day, I still fill most of my quiet moments with the voice of Jesse Thorn or Ira Glass.

But it’s time for a change in this American’s life. I’m 100% certain I need to take a break from 99% Invisible. And 2019 will be without many of the ear buds, like Thorn and Glass, who once filled my earbuds.

I need to sit with my own words in my head for a bit, instead of everyone else’s…whether it’s on a well-known podcast with millions of listeners or one put together by friends where I make up a high percentage of their listenership all by myself.

Don’t get me wrong – I still love podcasts. I’ll probably come back once I figure out a way to bring my own creative output into more of a balance with my intake of other people’s creativity. When I stop listening to The Moth – at the risk of sounding like my grandmother talking about her daily soaps – I’ll miss my stories.

But I’m not feeling too guilty about it. Podcasts are thriving. I did my part helping the industry – research shows that in the past year it grew to include about half a million shows. (It only feels like I’m listening to all of them.) Almost half the population age 12 or older has listened to one podcast. I couldn’t find any research on how much of the population listens to as many as I do. (Or how many people are like me and feel compelled to go back and listen to the entire archive of shows they enjoy.)

My new longest shortest time will be the idle time I used to wait for a new show to download into my feed – either every day, every other day, or once a week at a certain time. But hopefully I’ll have other things to occupy my time. Like my kids – my oldest was two when I immersed myself in podcasts. My younger two kids have never known my full attention. It will be nice to reconnect with them.

I can get back to reading books without always thinking that I’m using up valuable minutes that I could have been using to get through another podcast episode. Do people still make music? That will be nice to listen to. (I’m just kidding – of course I know people still make music. They are called musicians and they are often podcast guests.)

I don’t even know if I’ll be able to entirely commit to this resolution for the new year. There are long car rides ahead. Maybe I’ll need an escape from my own thoughts and I’ll listen to an occasional Marc Maron interview to get through the ride. There will certainly be a need to fill the free time I’m about to open up.

Or maybe I’ll end up needing an outlet for the creativity that surges from all that free time.

I may just have to start my own podcast.

Notes

*I was reminded of this essay this week because my friend Dave sent me this article - which is very similar, but actually follows up on what the writer’s time away from podcasts was like. Maybe that’s what I should have done when I pitched this essay around a couple of places back in December/January.

*I also thought it was appropriate to share this today because later today I’ll be a guest on The Comedy Studio Podcast - one of the two podcasts I continue to listen to. That usually comes out on Thursday, so if you’re interested in hearing what I have to say on it, look for it then. I’ll share a link next week. Unless it goes horribly, in which case maybe it never sees the light of day, or maybe I’ll never link to it. (But I don’t expect that to happen.)

*No, I have no plans to start my own podcast…but yes, I will make time to listen to any podcasts that will have me as a guest.

*What’s the other podcast I still listen to, you ask? WTF…which was also among the first I ever listened to. When I changed my podcast listening habits I had listened to every episode ever of WTF and Stuff You Should Know…and I decided I could live without SYSK, but had to continue with WTF. The Comedy Studio Podcast started right when I decided I wasn’t going to take on any new podcasts…but I made an exception for one of my favorite places. I’m flexible like that.

*(I’ll still occasionally listen to a 99% Invisible or a The Moth if the topic intrigues me enough. But it’s very few and very far between.)

*Not much to update you on with the Writing this week…and I only snuck in one open mic in between the dance recital rehearsals as far as the Comedy update. But it was a fun mic - it’s at 730 Tavern every Tuesday night. I had been meaning to check it out for a while and couldn’t make it work, but this week I did, and I’m glad I did. I’m toying around with some newer material and I was happy with how it went on Tuesday.

*Things settle down a little bit at home this week…there’s still a lot of softball, but at least dance is done. That’ll help me get out to some more shows and get the calendar filling up with some dates again.

*I should give you a Running update too - this rainy weather has been a real running impediment. But as promised last week I did do an hour on Monday. It was a good run. I hoped to do some more on Wednesday or Thursday but I just couldn’t find the time…and there was no chance this weekend, even though the weather was so nice. I suppose the schedule opening up next week will help my running too.

*One more thing about running, since we’re on the topic of running and also podcasts - I might have mentioned this before and I will probably write about it again: I don't listen to anything anymore while I’m running. I’ve just been trying to think thoughts as I run. That used to be unthinkable to me but right now it’s what I’ve been doing. Just thought i’d throw that out there.

*I’ve been in a bit of a tweeting slump but maybe if you follow me I’ll break out of it. You can do that here.

*I always say I need to get back to posting more on the Facebook page. I’ll try. You can Like that page here.

*I mentioned the end of the dance year - that’s because the girls’ dance recitals were this weekend. Man do I love watching those. (This falls under the category of “Things Young John Would Never Believe About John As An Adult.”)

*Tickets are now on sale for the June edition of Comedy Night at Exhibit ‘A’. You can buy them at this link.

*Marvel update: We unexpectedly snuck in Iron Man 2 Monday night, and then watched Thor on Saturday night. Not unlike Iron Man, I knew very little about Thor. (The comic book hero…as it turns out, I kind of know quite a bit about the Norse mythology.) Both movies were great. The big verdict: I wish we watched them in the order they came out, because as we watched Thor I realized, ‘Darn. I already need a refresher on some of the stuff we saw in Captain America.‘

*OK. Glad I wrote this week…see, I had a lot on my mind. Thanks as always for reading.